Paleo Chicken Curry Salad (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free)

I made up this Curry Chicken Salad and served it at a Norwex party at my house last week. I’ll blog more about Norwex later, my friend Erin is selling it here if you want to check them out before I get a chance to blog about them. I don’t typically like microfiber because of the feeling/texture, but I am super impressed by Norwex! (I do not make money off of the link to Erin’s Norwex shop, but she does if you buy something, which I think is fabulous, because she’s a stay at home mommy of a busy 2 year old and a real foodie!).

ANYWAYS, back to the curry! I made this up, because I wanted it to be a safe food for everyone in our family. I mentioned in my last post that my daughter has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. Another daughter has eosinophilic esophagitis, which her doctor thinks may be from an undetected dairy allergy (undetected meaning, absolutely no allergy showed up on skin testing, so we’ve got to try avoiding foods and see if they cure her EoE). So for now, while we undergo this dairy-free trial on behalf of our daughter, I am getting creative. I’d typically enjoy a little plain yogurt in a curry salad, which you can add if you choose, but this salad tastes great without it.

You can adjust this recipe to fit your diet, whether you are on GAPS, Paleo, Whole 30, or some other diet. At my Norwex party, I served this with seed crackers, homemade gluten free French Bread and a homemade dairy-free spinach dip. You can also serve it over lettuce, as a lettuce wrap, on bread for tea sandwiches, or wrapped up in your choice of tortilla or Paleo wrap.

The Ingredients

Chicken: You can use cooked chicken from any variety of cooking methods. I have used meat off of the bone of a whole chicken that I cooked in my Instant Pot. I’ve also used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cooked in oil in a skillet. If you’re ever blessed with leftover chicken, that would work perfectly in this is recipe (big families like mine don’t often know these luxurious things called leftovers!!).

Mayonnaise: You can make your own Paleo/GAPS/Whole 30 approved mayonnaise. I have a recipe, I will make sure to post it this week. If you buy mayonnaise, make sure to get one with an oil that you feel is healthy. Primal Kitchen makes a nice avocado oil mayonnaise. Kensington also makes an Avocado Oil Mayonnaise, and their traditional mayo (the one I can find in most stores) has sunflower oil. I don’t mind sunflower oil if I am not heating the mayonnaise (and it is better than soy or canola oil), but avocado oil is the healthiest choice between the two.

Honey: The best honey you can buy is raw and local honey. If you must purchase online, make sure you are searching for raw honey. If you are on the Whole 30 Diet or are avoiding added sweeteners for other reasons, you’ll want to skip the honey and add some grapes, unsweetened raisins or apples instead.

Curry Powder: Curry spices have so many health benefits!! There’s cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cloves, red & black pepper in the blend I used, which was Spice Hunter Organic Curry Powder. These spices are known to help with digestion, blood sugar, your immune system, etc. Trust me, you want these spices in your diet! You can make your own Curry Powder if you choose, or purchase one.

Sea Salt: Make sure you are using Real Salt or a Himilayan Sea Salt for the best health benefits. You can read about the benefits of Real Salt here.

Green Onions, Celery, and Optional Fruits: Make sure to get organic veggies and fruits!

Pumpkin Seeds: I used Go Raw Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds. Sprouting seeds makes the nutrients more available for digestion, so I always recommend sprouted seeds.

The Recipe:

How do you think you’d choose to serve this salad?